Possible good news on the horizon for staff at the fast-recovering John Lewis Partnership. The retail giant is contemplating reinstating staff bonuses for the first time in four years following improving trading and expected higher profits.
That means the 69,000 partnership-led business employees could be inline for payments, according to internal documents seen by The Financial Times, if pre-tax profits reach £200 million for the year to February 2026.
Profits last year totalled £126 million, up from £42 million, and sales are expected to have increased in the first half of 2025.
Despite tripling profits last year, the group said it had prioritised higher pay for staff as well as other investments instead of paying the bonus. The partnership paid a record £116 million in salaries last year and raised its minimum pay to £11.55 an hour.
The documents said John Lewis expected to pass the £200 million threshold and added “to get there we need to keep focused on the right things and deliver our plans”.
The positive news keeps coming for new-ish chairman Jason Tarry, who joined the retailer last September replacing Dame Sharon White after her lacklustre tenure that saw the retailer suffering a £648 million annual loss.
Under Tarry’s leadership, management says it’s now “relentlessly focused” on retail again following a period of also entering the housebuilding business and the financial services sector.
